Laurie joined the UTS Law Faculty in 2009. Her research advances the rights of temporary migrant workers in Australia and the region. She is the author of the first book on the regulation of temporary labour migration in Australia and has held a number of significant national and international research grants, including one for the Fair Work Ombudsman examining the experience of international students in the Australian workplace and another for Open Society Foundations International Migration Initiative examining the use of digital technology platforms to protect and empower migrant workers. Her recent research projects include a ground-breaking empirical study of non-residents working in homes across Australia as au pairs. Laurie is currently working with Bassina Farbenblum on the first extensive research into temporary migrant workers access to remedies for employment-related harms in Australia.

Before coming to UTS, Laurie worked at Human Rights First, in New York, in the International Humanitarian Law Program of the Australian Red Cross and as Co-Convenor of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (NSW).